PRO CYCLING MANAGER 2009 RACES INTO STORES TODAY

Pro Cycling Manager 2009, the must have simulation game for cycling enthusiasts and sports management fans from Ascaron Entertainment and Focus Home Interactive is available to buy today. Based on the world famous Tour de France race, the latest edition includes the Spanish Tour (La Vuelta) for the first time. Players can enjoy an exhilarating and competitive sports management experience whilst guiding their team to victory in four authentic events.

Fans of the series can watch the new trailer online at www.cycling-manager.com to view the game’s beautiful environments, realistic animations and experience the buzz of the most renowned cycling event in the world.

There are various competitive events in the velodromes that enable managers to put their team’s endurance, speed and skill to the test:

Scratch race– all contestants start the race on equal terms. Riders must overtake and lap their competitors, holding this lead until the finish to gain an advantage over those who have completed fewer laps.

Flying 200 metre time trial– time is critical in this speedy event as riders must race along the set distance to achieve the quickest time possible, ensuring a win for their team.

Points race– this official Olympic discipline involves many cyclists racing simultaneously on the same track for up to 160 laps. A sprint is held every ten laps, with points awarded to the top four finishers; the winner is the rider with the most points at the end. This event is very tactical, so players must decide the best racing style in order to secure a win for their team. Some racers prefer to sit back and conserve energy, only attacking for the sprints to accumulate points. Others may attempt to take control of a lap early in the race and defend their leading position.

Omnium– a multiple race event where all contestants compete against each other in a flying time trial, scratch race, individual pursuit, points race and shorter time trial. It is widely considered to be the event that determines the best all-round track cyclists due to the combination of sprint and endurance required. Team manager’s skills will be put to the test as they decide which riders are best at each specific discipline to ensure success.

Ascaron Entertainment (UK) is highly regarded on a domestic and global scale. With a professional reputation, full-service product management, and a wealth of experience in the games industry, the UK operation provides a bespoke multi-format publishing, sales, PR and marketing function to selected affiliate label partners. Ascaron Entertainment (UK) continues to be responsible for successfully launching titles into the UK market from developers and publishers worldwide. Amongst other titles, the Ascaron portfolio includes the popular UFO, Panzers, Cossacks, Blitzkrieg, Sherlock Holmes, Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis series of games, as well as critically acclaimed hits such as Call of Juarez (PC), Runaway: The Dream of the Turtle (PC, NDS), TrackMania (PC, NDS), City Life (PC), King’s Bounty (PC) and Moto Racer (NDS).

Founded in 1996, Focus Home Interactive is a French publishing and distribution company based near Paris, France. Known for the diversity, quality and originality of its catalogue, Focus now publishes and distributes many of its titles throughout Europe and also world-wide in both boxed retail and digital distribution formats. The last five years have been very successful for Focus in France, with many of its PC licenses becoming top-sellers. Focus has also published several original titles, including the adventure game Runaway, the renowned Cycling Manager and the much-loved TrackMania. The coming months will be exciting and full of surprises with the release of high-quality games such as Blood Bowl, TrackMania DS, Runaway: A Twist of Fate, Sherlock Holmes and sport games dedicated to major events such as the America’s Cup or the Tour de France.

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